Officially, now: Kent Hance is the chancellor of the Texas Tech University System. He's a former congressman, Texas railroad commissioner, lobbyist, and an unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Senate and governor of Texas. He lost the Senate race in a Democratic primary in 1984, then lost Republican gubernatorial primaries in 1986 and 1990. And he's the only guy who ever won an election against George W. Bush. The school will let him maintain his partial ownership of a hazardous waste company in Andrews County, and he'll be allowed to serve on private company boards while he's at Tech.

Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, is now a state senator. He won the special election to replace Frank Madla — who resigned this summer after losing the primary election to Uresti — and was sworn in over the weekend. Uresti also won the full term. He'll take that oath in January, with just a few weeks seniority over the other four senators in the freshman class.

Phil Gamble, a lawyer who worked for Kent Hance at the Texas Railroad Commission, is joining the law firm Hance just left. Gamble will work on legislative and regulatory issues for Hance Scarborough Wright Woodward & Weisbart. Hance, as you know, will be off running Texas Tech.

The state's two U.S. senators are now in the minority, but they got promotions within the GOP after the elections. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is now chairing the Republican Policy Committee. Sen. John Cornyn will start his fifth year in the Senate as vice chairman of the Republican Conference, a post that was held until now by Hutchison. 

Celinda Provost moves from the House, where she's been chief of staff to Rep. Allan Ritter, D-Nederland, to the Senate, where she'll have that title in the offices of Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin.

Jeff Burdette's the new director of government affairs for the Texas Cable and Telecommunications Association. He's most recently been the legislative director for state Sen. Mike Jackson, R-La Porte.

Damon Withrow will be the new government relations director at the Public Utility Commission after four years with Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands. He was legislative director for Williams, and moves at the end of the month. Jason Baxter, already with the senator, will take over Withrow's job there.

Tom McCarty is leaving the House Committee on Public Health — he was chief clerk there under Rep. Dianne White Delisi, R-Temple — to head government relations for the Texas Workforce Commission.

Appointments: Gov. Rick Perry named Lyndel Williams of Lexington to his Criminal Justice Advisory Council. Williams is training director for the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, where he's a co-worker of First Lady Anita Perry... the Guv named Gerardo "Jerry" Garcia, CEO of Hacienda Construction in Corpus Christi, to the Commission on State Emergency Communications, which oversees 9-1-1 and poison control centers in the state.